


third time's the charm

by Griffin Raynor (TheEbonHawk)



Category: Carmen Sandiego (Cartoon 2019)
Genre: Angst, Dad Shadowsan, Emotional Hurt/Comfort, Families of Choice, Fluff, Fluff and Angst, Found Family, Gen, Touch-Starved, background sibling antics, season two spoilers
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-10-23
Updated: 2019-10-23
Packaged: 2020-12-28 20:55:52
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,249
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21143075
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/TheEbonHawk/pseuds/Griffin%20Raynor
Summary: Carmen is still reeling from learning the truth about her family, and a part of her still misses V.I.L.E, but her new family won't let her feel lonely for long.





	third time's the charm

**Author's Note:**

> Comments are much appreciated and keep the motivation wheel turning! Thanks for reading <3

Carmen shut her laptop after finishing a chat with Player, smiling a bit to herself as she rose from her seat. Her vengeful bid for A.C.M.E’s info wouldn’t bring her dad back or make things any easier for her, but it did make her feel a little better.

The reality of what she’d learned had been gnawing at her. On the one hand, it was good to have the truth. Maybe it brought some semblance of closure, but she couldn’t tell. And the other hand was, now she knew, and her not so blissful ignorance was gone forever. It’d been frustrating, yes, but it had been a clean, empty ache that she could more or less ignore when she needed to. This was loud, this was heavy. Her dad was dead. A.C.M.E responsible. Her mom might be alive. She had to find her.

Carmen sighed. What she needed to do right now, really, was to get some fresh air. Carmen Brand Outwear might be the swankiest headquarters, but it didn’t have the greatest circulation yet. She headed to the front door and opened it, getting a whole foot out before she saw the others and froze. 

Zack and Ivy were chattering about something - probably one of their latest misadventures - and partway through Zack telling Shadowsan some surely exaggerated story Ivy grinned and playfully pushed him. Zack retaliated by grabbing Ivy under his arm and roughing up her hair, Ivy laughing and threatening to throttle and/or tickle him if he didn’t quit. Shadowsan was watching them silently, probably thinking something similar to what Carmen was thinking.

This was...familiar.

Carmen could remember several instances where Gray held her in the same kind of headlock, and one or two where she’d done it to him instead. She’d had it all - play fighting, real fighting, victory hugs and hugs of comfort after failures, and on one occasion her and her dorm mates had laid all their mattresses on the floor side by side and slept together on one large, makeshift bed. 

And now every friendship she’d had in V.I.L.E was gone. 

Carmen backed her way into the store again and shut the door, her head spinning. This was what things were like, now. You try to escape your thoughts of your father’s death and your missing mother for a moment, and you walk face-first into a reminder that your second family all hates you. That you’re alone. 

She steered herself towards one of the couches in the center of the main room and sat down heavily, holding her head and willing the tears not to come. She didn’t want to cry. She was too tired and too tough to cry again. But closing her eyes to fend off the tears only made it easier for her brain to start sending her pictures of what she was missing. Gray’s laugh, and an arm slung around her shoulders. Sheena’s hard-earned, despite-herself genuine smile. Jean-Paul and Antonio’s good-natured jokes and antics.

And then there was Couch Brunt, her surrogate mother. While Carmen still had bruises now from their last encounter, once upon a time the most violent thing the woman had ever done to her was hug her a bit too hard. Much as she wanted to put it out of her mind, she couldn’t. The woman had loved her, had expressed it though pats on the back, warm smiles, a kiss on her forehead. Carmen had tried so hard to be worthy of that love and now, at least in Brunt’s eyes, she wasn’t. 

If the goal had been not to cry, she’d failed that one. Her hand covered her eyes and tears kissed her fingers as she forced herself to let go. She’d thought about it, let it hurt, and now she begged the thoughts and the hurt to leave. This wasn’t the time to think about how lonely she was. It was time to think about her next move. 

  
The door opened. Carmen hastily wiped her face and sat up straighter, crossing her legs and threading her fingers together as she rested them on her right knee. She tracked Zack, Ivy, and Suhara with her eyes as they came to stand near her couch, a parade of concerned faces. 

She gave them a small, probably unconvincing smile. “What’s up, gang?”

Ivy frowned. “Carm, we saw you head back in here. You looked kinda upset.”

Zack nodded. “It’s understandable, for sure, but we just wanted to check on ya.”

Carmen looked at Shadowsan. He gave her a small nod, agreeing quietly with the other’s worries, but she could tell he understood even more than they did. She’d probably been right before, that he’d had the same thoughts watching Ivy and Zack. Maybe he’d even been thinking about Hideo. Either way, he knew pretty well what she was feeling. Which made it pointless to lie, even if she wanted to. 

“I saw the two of you horsing around and it just...It reminded me of when I was still at V.I.L.E. When they were still my family. It’s been a long time since I got anything nicer than a punch from any of them and I just... I miss it. I miss everyone.”

Ivy cocked her head to the side and gave Carmen a warm smile. “Aw, Carm. If you needed hugs, all ya had to do was ask.” She sat to Carmen’s right, and Zack immediately followed her example by sitting on her left, both of them hugging her at once. 

Carmen felt herself warm from the inside almost instantly. She put her arms around her two sweet partners in crime and let them hold her for a long, wonderful moment, let them remind her that no matter what she’d lost, she had them now. 

After that moment Shadowsan stepped closer, and Zack and Ivy loosened their grip on Carm and sat back, letting him approach her. Carmen looked up at her former teacher with a small smile. He looked serious, as usual, but the kind of serious he looked when he was staring right into her, feeling her pain. That look was becoming more and more familiar, and it was oddly comforting, having someone who can communicate ‘I know, I understand’ with just a look. 

Shadowsan stood in front of her and gently cupped the sides of her face with his steady hands. Tilting her head up, he kissed her lightly on the forehead. It was the same gesture she’d received multiple times from Coach Brunt, but while Brunt's kisses had been warm and every bit as forceful as the woman’s hugs, this one was just gentle, soft. Suhara released her just as gently and straightened, looking her in the eyes.

“Carmen. Regretfully I cannot bring back your father, and I cannot make V.I.L.E see you for the woman you are or be the family you deserve. But I swear that as long as I am able, I will be here by your side. If your mother can be found, I will help you find her, and no matter what happens you will always have my respect, my admiration, and my love.”

Carmen blinked, a little stunned for a moment as tears stung her eyes again. Then her smile returned in full force. “I...thank you. I hope you know how much that means to me.”

Shadowsan chuckled softly. “Believe me, my dear child. I understand.”


End file.
